So that left us with a problem. We had one of those metal screens that you put in front of it, but it was still letting the outside air in and the heat/AC out. We racked our brains for a way to "seal" it up without actually sealing it. I don't like the look of a sealed fireplace, and when we're ready to sell, we want to give the new buyers the option of putting a new one in.
Even if your fireplace is working, you may want an attractive way to cover it when it's not in use, other than the traditional screen. So here's what we did:
We found an old window from the Habitat Restore (my new favorite place). They have STACKS of old windows for $5!
The first step was to sand it down and paint it. It was in pretty good shape, with just a few minor nicks and scratches. I didn't do anything with those because I think it gives it character. I toyed with the idea of "roughing up" the paint to give it that antique appearance, but I prefer the clean look for this project.
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| Be sure to tape off the panes completely |
Next, we taped off the window and spray painted the glass with Valspar Frosting paint. Since the inside of our fireplace is rusty and dirty, I wanted to be able to hide that and this is the perfect way to do that.
After that, we took some brackets we bought from Lowe's, spray painted them, and attached them to the bottom of the window so it would stand in front of the fireplace. (Sorry, I don't have any pictures of the brackets).
Here is the end result. I am SO happy with it. I think it actually brightened up the fireplace as a whole and doesn't stick out like the other screen did.
I think we will stick a piece of plywood in front of the fireplace opening to seal it up behind the window as an added measure to prevent heat/AC loss (another good reason to use the frosting paint). But if you're just looking for a screen alternative, this would be a good option for that as well.
